Probe Looks Into Firing Of Gun By Clermont Officer

November 6, 1986|By Wesley Loy of The Sentinel Staff Reporter Jim Runnels contributed to this story.

CLERMONT — A city police officer is being investigated by Police Chief Prentice Tyndall for firing a shotgun into the ground while looking for a suspect.

Tyndall also confirmed on Wednesday that Officer Lee Bullard is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for other allegations, but he refused to be specific.

Bullard, 36, will remain on active duty while the investigations go on, Tyndall said. The chief said his own investigation should take no more than a few days to complete.

Tyndall would only say the shooting for which Bullard is being investigated occurred Oct. 30 at about 10:30 p.m. while he was looking for a suspect. Tyndall said he wasn't sure why Bullard wanted the suspect.

He said Bullard was looking for a suspect at an unspecified location in Clermont when he fired a shotgun into the ground near a group of people.

''It was a mere warning shot, basically,'' Tyndall said. ''There was no intent to kill anybody.

''He came straight to me the next morning and sat down and told me all about it,'' the chief said. ''I didn't hear about it from a citizen.''

Tyndall said he wants to see whether Bullard violated any department policies by firing the shotgun.

Bullard said Wednesday he would rather not comment until the chief's investigation is completed.

As for the FDLE probe, Bullard said people have wrongly accused him of things because he has attacked drug dealing in Clermont.

''I've made a lot of drug busts and I'm still making a lot of drug busts,'' Bullard said. He wouldn't say what the FDLE is investigating.

An FDLE spokesman could not be reached Wednesday.

Bullard was hired by the Clermont Police Department on Oct. 15, 1984. According to police records, Bullard in recent days has waged an aggressive campaign against suspected cocaine dealers in Clermont, arresting at least a half dozen people after using confidential informants to make buys.